Now that it is a (paper) launch....

[Joe Cool]

...With cards unavailable to most before February, what impact if any do you think this will have on Nvidia and the perception people have of them?

Personally I don't think there'll be any change. They still basically own the mid-range market with their GF4 Ti4200, and it's yet to be proven if/when that'll change.

The low end is still a muddled mess, one could prefer many different cards depending on what one wants and is willing to pay. The FX announcement won't make any change there.

Perceptually whether they've retaken the "high" end will depend on the individual, I suppose. On the one hand there's the theoretical superiority of the FX over the 9700 Pro, but balancing that is not much proof (except Doom 3 so far), and it's unavailability.

In other words, I could see many people crowing "the 9700 Pro is King because I can actually buy one" - but I expect few doubt the FX will be faster when it's available. I don't doubt it, myself.

Fortunately the market seems big enough in the high end so that both ATI and Nvidia are winners here - the 9700 pro seems to be selling pretty well from what I understand - and I don't doubt that the FX will sell well when *it* comes out.

I think we can also expect a lot of "But wait for the R350!" hype from some people, but as there's been little or no info about it or when it may be available, such hype should be discounted....

I also wouldn't be surprised to see the FX available to the masses *before* February - no matter what Nvidia says now. Anyone agree with me on this?

[StealthHawk]

Originally posted by Joe Cool
I think we can also expect a lot of "But wait for the R350!" hype from some people, but as there's been little or no info about it or when it may be available, such hype should be discounted....

in fact they have already started, here and all over the internet ;)

but what more do you expect in that regard, we had the opposite going on when ATI paper launched R300. of course we actually had statements from nvidia claiming that NV30 would be out this Fall, and then during the Christmas season

I also wouldn't be surprised to see the FX available to the masses *before* February - no matter what Nvidia says now. Anyone agree with me on this?

yes, it will be available in January, but in what quantities? will the price be inflated, etc.

[Joe Cool]

Originally posted by StealthHawk
....but what more do you expect in that regard, we had the opposite going on when ATI paper launched R300. of course we actually had statements from nvidia claiming that NV30 would be out this Fall, and then during the Christmas season
Right now I'm more concerned with anyone trying to trumpet the R350 (which isn't available) over the FX (which admittedly also isn't available). That's when things can get really absurd.

At least we have truly solid info about the FX now, so people trying to decide whether to upgrade or wait a few months for it can make more of an informed decision.

But wait for the R350? Bah.


"yes, it will be available in January, but in what quantities? will the price be inflated, etc.
The question is then - will most people who want one be able to get it then? That's what will really matter, since of course most people can't afford to get any sort of high end card, whether it's the FX or 9700 Pro.

Personally I think it will be available in quantity, in January at the latest. A good thing, too!

I think Nvidia is just being prudent, "just in case." Which is another good thing, I suppose....

[Bigus Dickus]

ATi did not paper launch the R300.

[pelly]

Bigus Dickus
ATi did not paper launch the R300.

Are you sure about that? ;)

( Granted, nowhere near the extent NVIDIA has done...but I certainly remember a wait... )

[Fotis]

Originally posted by Joe Cool


But wait for the R350?
If you have solid info about r350 by february saying that it will be faster than GFFX what will you do?Retail is about 3 months away for GFFX and there is plenty of time for info to come up.ATI has officially stated in august that they will launch r350 on 0.13 this spring although I'd like a more recent statement in case something has changed.

[Fotis]

Originally posted by pelly
Bigus Dickus


Are you sure about that? ;)

( Granted, nowhere near the extent NVIDIA has done...but I certainly remember a wait... )
It's one thing to do a paper launch that lasts 3 months and an other thing to do a paper launch that lasts a month.;)

[jbirney]

Originally posted by pelly
Bigus Dickus


Are you sure about that? ;)

( Granted, nowhere near the extent NVIDIA has done...but I certainly remember a wait... )

Anandtech had a working sample and was allowed to post numbers. Now they were not final FPS numbers as clock speed was not yet finalize (ATI was wating to see if it could hit high yeilds at 325mz) so they told sites to use only a relative index to GF4. Anandtech also showed screen shots of AA and AF in action. Other sites also had cards just under NDAs. ATI had already started to ramp up its volume on r300 parts. This is not the case with the NV30. Yes neither had real reviews but one was a heck of a lot closer. The NV30 launch has some simularties to the GF3 launch (annocement with more than 5 weeks to wait before you had real benchmarks or could buy one).

[DadGT]

Originally posted by Fotis
If you have solid info about r350 by february saying that it will be faster than GFFX what will you do?Retail is about 3 months away for GFFX and there is plenty of time for info to come up.ATI has officially stated in august that they will launch r350 on 0.13 this spring although I'd like a more recent statement in case something has changed.

Link for the Official statement by ATI stating R350 would be 130nm and available in spring please.

[Fotis]

Originally posted by DadGT
Link for the Official statement by ATI stating R350 would be 130nm and available in spring please.
http://www.reactorcritical.com/cgi-bin/news.cgi?templ=archive.http&id=1209

[DadGT]

Originally posted by Fotis
http://www.reactorcritical.com/cgi-bin/news.cgi?templ=archive.http&id=1209

Thanks. I know I had seen those comments at some time in the past but couldn't remember where.

[StealthHawk]

Originally posted by Joe Cool
Right now I'm more concerned with anyone trying to trumpet the R350 (which isn't available) over the FX (which admittedly also isn't available). That's when things can get really absurd.

At least we have truly solid info about the FX now, so people trying to decide whether to upgrade or wait a few months for it can make more of an informed decision.

But wait for the R350? Bah.

what i mean is that people did exactly that when R300 was launched. they said "wait for NV30, it will be here in a few months." of course it turned out it was "launched in a few months" with the card to be available in a "few more" months ;)

[tamattack]

Originally posted by Joe Cool
On the one hand there's the theoretical superiority of the FX over the 9700 Pro, but balancing that is not much proof (except Doom 3 so far), and it's unavailability.

I wouldn't exactly call that proof, as those figures are coming directly from NV.

[tamattack]

Originally posted by Joe Cool
At least we have truly solid info about the FX now, so people trying to decide whether to upgrade or wait a few months for it can make more of an informed decision.

But wait for the R350? Bah.

No more silly than all the people who were saying 'wait for nv30' prior to Comdex.

What if ATI paper launches R350 in January? Will you then suggest that people continue waiting to see how R350 compares to NV30?

[tamattack]

Originally posted by StealthHawk
what i mean is that people did exactly that when R300 was launched. they said "wait for NV30, it will be here in a few months." of course it turned out it was "launched in a few months" with the card to be available in a "few more" months ;)

Exactly.